Ironing machine



March 24, 1931. F. NLCASE IRONING MACHINE Filed Oct. 3l, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l March 24, 1931. F. M. cAsE 1,797,521

IRONING MACHINE Filed oct. s1, 1927 5 sheets-sheet 2 lwaleh 24, 1931. F, M, CASE 1,797,5521

IRONING MACHINE Filed Oct. 3l, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Marh F. M. CASE IRONING MACHINE Filed Oct. 3l, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 March 24, 1931. F. M. cAsE IRONING MACHINE Filed Oct. 3l, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 61cm nu, s

Patented Mar. 24, 1931y uNITED STATES gPA'ileNr vorricl:

HEIM, or oLnvELAND HEIGHTS, vOHIO r 7morfina MACHINE Application filed October 31, 1927. Serial No. 2311,153.

This invention relates to ironingmachines -and particularly to the hat worlrtype utilizing a heated roll and padded pressure rolls.

In ironing machines utilizing the heated rolls and padded pressure rolls, it has been customary to heat the heated roll by steam or gas llame, and in the latter arrangement 1t is necessary to have a burner of the type which will produce a multiplicity of small flames impinging the inner wall of the roll throughout its length. Zhen this heated roll is of .any considerable size, it is `also necessary to increase the number of burnersand space them in a group at the upper and inner peripheral portion of the roll to further increase the heating effect upon thisl roll. It

is necessary, of course, to vent the products of combustion ,from this roll and this may only be done through one or Vboth ends of the roll with the result that any lpractical venting structure must need be limited, and when so limited, the ability to heat the roll by means of gasflames is also limited. It is one object 'of'this invention, therefore, to overcome the above difficulty by producing an artificial venting of the roll to relieve itof its undesirable productsl of combustion, enhance combustion, and permitthe supplying of the roll with ample heating means. In the present instance this is'accomplished by a suctionV device made effective within the rollby a perforatedA pipe extending` throughout the length of the roll at the most vcritical point so that the roll is relieved of its undesirable products of combustion and the machine as a Whole is thereby `given greater efficiency in operation." i Y y l`rItis also a feature of this invention to provide they padded pressure rollers `with suit` able mechanism yfor vexerting uniform` pressure uponthework and with means for raisingY and loweringthem into operative and Vinoperative positions.4 This same means also functions to connect and disconnect the drive Vto these rollersY from a suitable source. A

lAnother feature of this invention iswthe provision of suitable thermostatic means for controlling the fueland thereby controlling the effective-temperature of the ironing roll.

Stillv another Ffatture of the invention .is the Vingroller with the construction and arrangement of the ironing roll and its supporting bearings shown,

for example, in the drawings at one end of the roll whereby a substantially full sized opening is provided at the end of the roll to furnish the greatest possible vent therefor and also to furnish the greatest'p'ossible clearance at this point for access to the inside of the roll, the foregoing being accomplished by the arrangement of the bearing upon the outside of the' trunnion sleeve which is as nearV as possible the size of the bore of'thevroll. This enlarged opening at the end of the roll makes it possible to substitute other heating means such as an electrical heating unit'for the gas burners when they are undesirable.

Other details will vbe brought out in -cona right end view; Fig. itis a detail view of Y the safety guard latch; Fig. 5 is anelevation of the left end ofthe Iupperpart of the machine, as shown in Fig. l; Fig. 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing -the yarrangement of the pressure rolls, the heated roll, and the support for the burners' and the exhaust tube, with the preferred relation indicated; 7 is a detail section through the thermostatic control andV gas valve; Fig. 8 is a 'detail through one of the plungers for the pressure rollers; Fig. 9 `is a view of a part of the machine as illustrated in Fig.' 2, to indicate the machine -a'sequipped with an electrical heating unit; and Fig; 10 is a more or less diagrammatic cross section of the heatelectrical heating'element applied.

In the drawings, 1 and 2 represent the main end frame members connected by suitabley transverse barsy 8 toform a rigid upstanding base frame. The upper ends of these frame members 1 and 2 areprovided with frame pads 4 upon which the ironing machine unit rests. The ironingmachineunit comprises unit fra-me members 5 and 6, the latter extending upward and being provided with a Vmain trunnion bearing 7 adapted to receive access to the roll for various parts o 421 is manipulated by a handle the hollow trunnion 8 forming a part of the end head 9 of the ironing` roll 10. The body of this ironing r-oll is of tubular forni suitably secured to the end heads. Secured to the end head 9 within the trunnion bearing' i' is a roll drivinggear 11 meshing with a driv ing pinion l2 mounted upon a shaft 13 cai'- rying a worin wheel lel driven by a worin l5 upon a shaft 16 extending to the iront of the machine, where it receives a tast di' viiip;

L ulley 17 and slow driving pulley 18., two pulleys being` loose upon the shaft and roll and any `parts in criving; relation therewith may be driven at various speeds, depending' upon the particular pulley ratios oi' the c rive.

The other :traine rnernoer 5 is of somewhat similar structure except that place or" the inain bearing 7, it is provided with an larged opening; as shown at. 2'? for providina' access t-o the end 'of the ironing roll7 as will appear. To support the endv of the v 1 .L 1 J.' 'I .f2 J. ironing roil at tnis particular end oi die machine, the unit trarne member 5 is provided with two circumferentially spaced sunporting rollers 28 as shown in Figs. 9, and o. These rollers engage a trunnion sleeve forining a part oi the end head 30 secured to the ironing roll bod;T or tube l0. The trunnion sleeve 29 is preferably made largge practical so as to provide as great an openingl in the end of the roll as possible for voi p the roll of as much ofthe products et conibustion as possible, and also for providi burner and exhaustV equipment.

It is obvious from the 'foregoing :the

ironing` roll is supported at both ends with a trunnion bearing litat the right ci d7 sli-own in Fig. 2, and with a trunnion s and external roll mounting at the left e. and these bearings are so arranged roll when heated niay expand left or over the rollers 28, and his nioveinf Ais utilized 'for regulating theheat, as will manner and supports the burner mechanism ustin fr of the machine. rllhe mixer is provided with a iniXer pipo extending through the hollow trun on 3 into the roll an@ 'to a suitable vint wl'iere it nn y at this trunnion end tno ll Oi.

stance shown three radiating' :ii-ni.. 9 i* c 1 e i" J: o8, on i 1 ends oi ea n or wi. is a split co r clainp coin irisino" ineinber 89 auf' a cap Ll() adapted to be cianiped bysi 1 eiainps receives a burner i -r ile bolts Each these ing an opening communicating opening;- of one oi the hollow ai ns Si whereby the burner tube is supplied with gas;

Each one oit the group otarins 36, 3?' ano'. 38, is provided u th burner tube au' each bux ner tube is provided with suitable ings arranged to project their rd the inner peripheral wall. E

LliAv J.

iiio roll for heating the saine. The outer free oitures-e burner tubes are plugged as at 45. I

ln a siniilar inanner the left hand end of "e machine as shownvin Fig.l 2 is provided with a fuel supplj/,and in this arrangement the ii'iixer e6 is supported in suitable stepped i.. iv

spider siinilar to the spider 35. ln this wayuoo the burner tubes are supplied with gas ata fr irality' of points `and 'ample ruelis fur- ..fislied 'tor the heating` operation...

iues 32 and 50'are connected together a inain control therniostatic valve 7, supported in alsuitable bracksecured to the traine andhaving; an outainber 54 and an inletV chainber 55 sepby partition wall 56. providing a y seat This valve seat is engaged by valve 58, noiinally forced toward its seat by spring 59. rlhe valve 58 is provided with a stein 59 adaptedto engage in al suitable seat in a thrust screw GOthreaded'into a clcvis 6l swivelled to the 'end oi a-l'ever 62 fulcruined .v

and having an eutendinggarm 64C engaging a thrust screw 65 supportedin "a pi.. er 66` slidably -nioinited in the frame and carrying aroller 67 adapted to engage 29. The lever 62 is normally y*pressed aga-inst an adjustable stop 68 by a spring vpressed plunger 69 mounted in the' traine so thatthe screw 60 is normally heldiinwengageinent with the valve stein 59, as clearly a* shownin Fig. 7. l.

llroin the.foregoing` arrangement of the fuel control, it will beseen that as the ironroll becomesl heated and expands it will tend', byend thrust,.to in'ove theplunger 66 and the lever 62, in a counter-clockwise direction and allow the gas valve 58 to seat and cut down or shut off the fuel supply, and contrariwise, as the ironing roll cools down, the reverse action will take place and additional fuel will be suppliedto the burners.

lt is to be borne in mind that a machine of this type may be, and in fact is, arranged pipe 70 connected to an exhaust fan or blower a and extending' up through a suitable opening in the member i7 and through the opening 27 in the unit frame member 5.A On the interior of the ironing roll this pipe extends throughout the length of the roll and is provided with suitable 'openings 71 for exhausting the products of combustion from the roll. It is preferable to arrange this exhaust pipe at a point where collection of the products of combustion is most aggravating, and the arrangement shown in Fig. 6 has been found to be extremely practical. In this arrangement the pipe 70 is supported by suitable brackets 72 mounted on the spider 85, as shown. In this arrangement the ironing roll revolves in a clockwise direction andthe exhaust pi e 7 0 is arranged between burners 2 and 3. y the use of this exhaust for the products of combustion ample air forY supporting combustion is drawnV into the roll and the flames from the vburners are permitted to impinge nicely yagainst the inner wall ofthe ironing wall. It has been found in practice that this exhaust for the products of combustion is so effective that Ywhen the exhaustis cut olf .the flames smother out forv considerable distanceand, indeed, sometimes go entirely out, but when the exhaust is turned on the burners light up .andproper heating proceeds.

Cooperating-with the ironing roll are suitable pressure rolls, and their construction and arrangement will .now be described. Atthe right hand end of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2, the outer cylindrical portion of the trunnion bearing 7 receives rollers 7 3 arranged between it and a cam operating ring 7a provided with an loutwardly extending iin`75 carrying a plurality of caminembers 76, each having a tangential cam slot portion 77 land a dwell at the outer end as aty 78. There are three of these cams, one for each group of pressure rollers, as will appear.

At the opposite end of the machine the step conical bracket member 47 is in like manner work. the levers and the links 89 are constructed provided Vwith a cam ring 7-9 havingfa 80 carrying similar cams 8l. Y

These cain members at the two ends of the machine form pairs and each pair, Vone at one end of the machine and one at the other, 1

is adapted by its camming action to move theV pressure rollers radially into and out of pressing relation with the ironing roll and there are two rolls moved by each pair of cams,

and since there are six rolls shown and their construction and arrangement is identical, a description of one pairv of rolls with` its mounting and its connection'to the cams will suiiice for all. l l

In the case ofthe right. hand end of .th machine, the unit frame member 6 is prov-ided with a guide member 82, F ig. :8, secured to the frame inany suitable manner and having aibore or opening 83 extending radially with respect to the axis of the ironing roll. This bore oropening 83 receives a plunger guide 84 provided with a lateral Vpin 85 `projecting through a slot 86 in the guide 82. `Tfhispin receives aroller 87v engaging in .the cani slot of the associated cam of the group ofv cams 7 6 and 8l. The roller has an operating lit in the cam slot and when thecam is moved bodily by its cam ring the roller willcbe moved along the tangential portion of ythe slot andtothe dwell, when the -plunger guide will Vbe `moved outward.V This operation .moves the ,pressure rollers away from the ironingroll`s,as will appear.

To return the pressure roll to ironing position, the cam rings are rotatedin the oppof sitedirection, when the roller 87 will move down the slots of the cams and the padded 'roll will rest upon the ironing roll. yiisbefore intimated, there is a complete roll raising and lowering device at the end of veach of the pairs ofpressure; rollers. v

Suitable mechanism .is provided for ineving the cam rings 7 lk and 79 and itcomprises aii'ear 88 oneach ring, a` 'link 89 `pivotally connected to each ear, and an operating lever 90 mountedfupon a shaft91. `Each olf vthe arms 90 is provided with an actuating arm 92 extending upwardly atl the yfront ofthe machine'when the pressure rolls are in engagement -with the ironing roll, and these arms are connected by an operatingbar 93.l To raise the rolls this bar is pulledv forward to the dottedline position shownin Fig. 3, when the pressure rolls will be movedout of engagement with the ironing roll and the In the arrangement just described,

Vingl them in this position.

inost pressure roll.

vbecomes heated Each Vof the plunger guides 84 has a reduced shank 94 surrounded by a tension spring 95 adapted to thrust against an adjusting hand wheel 96 at the outer end, and the inner end against a guide sleeve 97 loosely surrounding the shank 9/-1 and carrying a pair of bearings 98, one arranged on each side of the sleeve 97. The loose fit of the sleeve 9? uponthe shank 9e serves to permit the springs 95 to adjust their tension equally upon the two rolls with which they cooperate and apply them with uniform pressure upon the ironing'roll. Like bearings at opposite ends of the machine carry the trunnions 99 and 1GO-of one of the pressure rolls 101. Each of these pressure rolls is provided with a suitable padding 102. Vfithin the sleeves 97 and at the right hand end of the machine each of the trunnions 99 is provided with a driving pinion 108 adapted to mesh with the ironing roll driving gear 11 when the pressure rolls are lowered into engagement with the ironing roll, butfree of said gear when the pressure rolls are moved outward. i

The machine may be provided with side apron mechanism, and in such an arrangement suitably supported brackets 104e are provided, one at each end of the machine, and these brackets carry a forward feed apron'roller 105 supported in bearings 106 carried by guide rods 107 supported in space guides 108. The guide rod 107 is provided with a thrust collar 109 engaged by a spring 110 arranged between it and. one of the guides 108-to force the bearings 106 voutward to take up the slack in the feed apron. At the entrance between the first pressure roll and the ironing roll is a pair'offeed roll bearings 111, one at each end of the machine, and these support a rearfeeding roller 112 adapted to engage in a bightof the feed apron 118 preferably made up of apluralitj,T of narrow aprons or endless belts. Within the bearings 111 the roll is provided wit-ha driving gear 114 meshing with a gear 115 secured to the trunnion ofthe forwardln use, when the machine is cold and idle, the pressure rolls are raised from the ironing roll in the manner already 'described and the operatorv starts the machine by first turning on the gas by means of theivalves 88 and 49 and lights the burners within the ironing roll, the motor having been started so that the ironing roll revolves about the burners and becomes uniformly heated throughout its length and around its circumference. As it it necessarily expands, and when its heat is Vsufficient to produce the proper amount of expansion, the fuel is shut down by the thermostatic valve already described.` After theroll has been heated to the proper degree, the operator then throws the pressure rolls and the feed apron into operation by shifting the bar 98 from the position shown in dotted lines to that shown in full lines in Fig. 3, when the vVarious pinions of the several pressure rolls will be brought into mesh with the gear 11 and the rolls will be drive-. This also brings about a proper driving mesh of the driving gears of the feed apron, and it will be set in motion. The ironing operation proceeds until the rolls are again released.

if desirable, the machine may be provided with a Vsafety device in the form of a swinging frame comprising-end members 1162pivoted to suitable supports 117 secured to the frame. These end members are jointed by suitable rails 118 which are hung by the end vmembers just in front of the entrance between the ironing roll and the first pressure roll.

V@ne of the Vend members, preferably the left one, shown inlPig 1, is provided with av laterally extending pin 119, shown in Fig. Il, and this pin engages a notch 120 in a latch lever 1211mounted upon a Vshaft 122. This shaft is supported in a. suitable bracket 123l and has a finger 12sL thereon adapted to envreceives a collar'125-supporting one end of a frame 126 extending within and throughout the length of the ironing roll to the opposite end where it is supported loosely in a suitable opening in a plate 127 secured to the end edge of the trunnion bearing 7 by suitable bolts 128. This frame 125 within the roll supports suitable brackets 129 inY turn supporting an electrical heating element 130 of any preferred construction. f

`When the machine is equipped with an electric heating element, as linst described, the parts in the way at the left hand end of the machine, as shown in 2, are removed and the heating lelement is inserted within the ironing roller with the end of the heating element frame engaged in the plate 127. The parts at the left end of the machine are then reassembled so that the stepped frame member l? engages about the ring 125 and supports the heating element. Suitable leads for the heating Velement 130 may pass through the ring 125.

` |This application .has been divided as to the subject matter ofthe drive and the support for the ironing roll and these features form the subject matter of the applicants co-pending divisional case, Serial No. 311,631, filed October 10, 1928.

What I claim is:

1. In an ironing machine, a frame, a hollow ironing roll mounted for rotation therein and having a vent at the end open to the atmosphere, fuel burners arranged within said roll to heat the same, and means within said roll for withdrawing the products of combustion from said roll. Y

2. An ironing machine as in claim 1, wherein the ironing roll is provided with an exhaust pipe extending within the roll and adapted to exhaust the products of combustion therefrom.

3. In an ironing machine, a frame,'a hollow ironing roll, a plurality of elongated burners extending the length of said roll and arranged in a group near its top, an exhaust pipe extending into said roll near its top and adjacent said burners for withdrawing the products of combustion from said roll, and a suction device connected tosaid exhaust pipe.

4. In an ironing machine, a frame, a hollow ironing roll mounting for rotation therein, fuel burners arranged within said roll to heat the same, and means within said roll extending the full length thereof for withdrawing the products of combustion therefrom.

In testimony whereof I hereby aiiix myy signature.

FRANCIS M. CASE. 

